4.22.2010

In honor of Earth Day I'm going to host my first ever give away! It's not something I ever thought would happen on this blog, but since crafting has become a fun hobby, and I haven't opened an Etsy store at this point, I have some things to offer :).

Sorry but this give away is a girly one. It's a flower hair clip with the words One World. It's turqouise, green and brown. This one has an aligator clip, but I also have one with a contour clip. Also included is a brown nylon headband that will fit most baby/toddler head sizes.

(The Choc Brown headband is 1.5 inches and NOT made of nylon tights)

To enter this give away just leave a comment with the type of clip you would like and if you you need me to add a non-slip grip to the inside of the clip (if you choose not to use the headband).

Since I don't have a lot of followers and this is the first giveaway, there's a higher chance of winning :).

4.20.2010

I don't know if it's because Lillian turned 7 months last week, or if I've just been reading too many PWS emails/newsletters or if it's because we've doubled Lillian's therapy sessions, or had her EI evaluation and started talking about the future... but I'm in a funk.

Sunday during church I fed Lillian and listened to the sermon. As soon as the minister was done I got up and walked out because I just couldn't sit there anymore and keep it together. Wandering the hallways I tried to re-group, went to the restroom to wash out Lillian's bottle and tube, and decided to just keep walking the hallways. I don't like crying, and I certainly don't like losing it in public. Right about the time I pull it together I hear someone yelling my name, look up and see a good friend of mine on the second floor waving me to come say hello. So I head up there and of course the first thing he asks is... "How are you doing?" If only he knew how loaded that question was... he probably wouldn't have asked. I lost it. Thank God he's one of my best life long friends and a great listener. And thank God he didn't say something stupid and cliche like "It'll get better." He just listened. I needed that.

So let me explain the funk, and then we'll move on to the happier things in life once I get this off my chest.

The funk started with her aging. She's 7 months now. Obviously this is inevitable and ridiculous for me to get upset about, but the older she gets the closer we get to the "unknown" about PWS. At this age I know what to expect. I expect her to be lower tone than kids her age, not as hungry, easy to put down to sleep, adorable, sweet, happy, all smiles, proud of herself for her milestones, still in diapers, coos and babbles, ya know - the baby stuff. We have no idea what to expect as she gets older. And all you hear about are the horror stories. Google it if you want to know what they are. I'm not going to repeat them here.

No matter what the future holds she'll be my Lil' Bitty and I'll love her to pieces and will be proud of EVERY SINGLE accomplishment that she ever reaches. I hate myself for crying about her future. It hasn't been written and I try my hardest not to write it for her. It's hers... and damn it we ARE going to enjoy her life's journey.

But, there are days when I'm just a little bit broken. I fight back tears when other people are around. And when it's too much to hold back and I lose it (like in church the other day), hearing myself explain why I'm upset just makes me feel silly. I mean, honestly I've been given the most incredible little girl and here I am crying about things that haven't even been determined. Fear. She deserves so much more credit than that.

So we find joy in this life. We go on playdates to the Children's Museum and walk through the Barbie exhibit and create our own Barbie wardrobe out of scrap fabric and hair ties.

We get lunch with Grandma and purchase the cutest little sandles for our upcoming trip to the beach.

We swing at the park, do silly things with our hair after a bath, and snuggle up close with daddy for a much needed late afternoon nap.

And we cherish these moments before they slip away and become the past.

If I had a crystal ball and could look into our future and have it look anything like the present I would stop crying, pull my crap together, and leave the future where it belongs. But since there's no magic crystal ball we'll continue to take things one day at a time. And squeeze every bit of joy out of this life. Even on the bad days.

4.19.2010

This week wasn't really a crafty week in our household, but thankfully the weather coorperated so we could get some outdoor house work done!

It started with spray painting our shutters. This should have been done last year (well, probably several years ago) but since I was growing a human inside my big ol' belly it wasn't at the top of my "to do" list. Here's a little comparison of the old (faded green) and new (brown). You can tell from the pic that pressure washing our house is next on the "to do" list...

(And now I'm totally embarrassed to show this picture of my dirty house. WE WILL be pressure washing the yuck off the siding this week.)

Next up is planting the vegetable garden. Luckily my mom has a green thumb and started most of the plants (the rest we bought at the farmers market). We just had to till the ground, pull up the roots and grass still left, and transfer the plants. I'm really excited with how it's turned out! We have a row of corn, green beans, zucchini, eggplant, squash, early pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.

We just dug the holes for the plants a few inches apart and sprinkled organic top soil once the plants were transferred. For the green beans we made rows of dirt and lined up the beans down the rows. Then I just went around and stuck the beans about an inch into the dirt with my finger and then sprinkled with organic top soil. The pumpkins we planted with plenty of space to grow since they tend to spread. I set up the sprinklers and gave them all a good sprinkling and so far so good!

Last but not least, some Impatiens planted in the shady areas around the house to brighten things up.

I hope everyone else is enjoying the spring time weather. We're going to enjoy a fun trip to the Zoo this week while the temperature is still mild and pleasent... right after we pressure wash the yuck off our house ;-).

4.10.2010

I've been meaning to write our "About Us" post for a long time, and the Ultimate Blog Party was the perfect motivation to get it started. So excited about joining the party this year! Can't wait to meet everyone :)

Phil and I met in the spring of 2004. We dated for a couple years and got engaged on Christmas Eve 2006. On July 7, 2007 we tied the knot! On New Years Eve 2008 we found out I was pregnant and I had our daughter in September 2009 and she was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome 6 weeks later.

Our favorite thing to do as a couple is travel and enjoy the outdoors. Now that we have our daughter Lillian we'll get to enjoy traveling as a family. This blog is mainly about the ups and downs of marriage, family, having a child with special needs, and enjoying life's journey. Thanks for listening to me vent, celebrate, and ramble on about life!

Our Life in Photos

Boy meets Girl

Boy likes Girl

Boy moves to Hawaii

Girl goes to College

Boy comes back for Girl

Girl falls in love with Boy

Boy and Girl get Married

They travel

Girl gets Pregnant

Then comes Baby!

The Ultimate Blog Party is giving away a ton of prizes this year and the ones I'm most excited about are:

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About Me

Hi! This place is where I write down random thoughts and keep track of life's moments.
I try to be an open book and will answer any questions you may have about Prader-Willi Syndrome or being a parent to a child with special needs. I will be the first to tell you to enjoy your life, regardless of the cards you've been dealt!